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New words are constantly entering the lexicon to describe new concepts and technologies and what they mean, resulting in neologisms. Conversely, older words continually fall out of use as they decrease in cultural significance. This study is set against the background of recent technological advancements in internet-based communication and its corresponding effect on vocabulary. Social networking sites such as Facebook and WhatsApp, and email have attracted millions of African language-speaking users who connect and communicate via the internet, using both computers and mobile devices. This has largely expanded on various languages’ vocabularies. For instance, ‘Apple’ and ‘Blackberry’ are no longer just fruits, they now also belong to the social media register. The lexical system of African languages as it is represented in the social networking sites has been neglected as a field of study. Hence, the pertinence of this study which explores social networking neologisms across African languages, with a distinct focus on Tshivenḓa as one of the 12 official languages in South Africa. The study takes a morpho-semantic approach, while Newmark’s model of neologism typology is used as a theoretical point of departure. The design and methodology of the study is qualitative descriptive, which employs purposive sampling. Data analysis involved word classification according to their formation processes and analysis to reveal their meanings, word class and word formation type. The findings highlight that borrowed lexical items with new senses are the dominant type of neologism found in the interface and translation procedures of neologisms from English to Tshivenḓa. This is dominated by the application of transference and couplets. The study has implications for linguists, language practitioners, lexicographers and researchers.

A morpho-semantic approach to social networking neologisms in ‘modern’ Tshivenḓa usage